Round the mystery world

Andi Schechter, a longtime mystery fan who wears a great many hats, gets to try on the event coordinator one again as she will bring Left Coast Crime to Seattle in 2007 (following the one to be held in Bristol, UK). Dennis Lynds (aka Michael Collins) and Gayle Lynds will be the Author Guests of Honor, while DorothyL doyennes Diane Kovacs and Kara Robinsons, will get the Fan Honors. Toastmasting duties will be given over to Gary Phillips.

Also, as Publishers Lunch reported on Friday, William Morrow executive editor Carolyn Marino will receive the Ellery Queen award “presented to editors
or publishers who have distinguished themselves by their generous and
wide-ranging support of the mystery genre.” It will be given out at the Edgar Awards on April 28th. I can’t even begin to list the number of authors Marino edits or has edited, but some choice current names include Lawrence Block, Sujata Massey, Chassie West, Claire Matturro and Robert Heilbrun.

UPDATE: The full press release issued by the Mystery Writers of America, with all the other Special Edgars, follows after the jump.

MYSTERY WRITERS OF AMERICA BOARD VOTES HONORS TO TOM FONTANA, DAVID

CHASE,

CAROLYN MARINO

Murder by the Book (TX), Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theater,

DorothyL Internet List Also Honored

NEW YORK — MWA National Board of Directors has conferred Special Edgar®

Awards on television producers and writers Tom Fontana and David Chase

for

their groundbreaking work in television crime shows.  HarperCollins Vice

President and Executive Editor Carolyn Marino will receive the Ellery

Queen

award, presented to editors or publishers who have distinguished

themselves

by their generous and wide-ranging support of the mystery genre.  The

Raven

award, given to individuals and institutions who have made significant

contributions to the mystery genre or to MWA, will go to four

recipients:

Martha N. Farrington, owner of Murder by the Book bookstore; Steven

Oney,

founder of Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theater; and Diane Kovacs and Kara

Robinson, founders and owners of the DorothyL Internet list.

The announcement was made by MWA National President Michael Connelly.

Tom Fontana and David Chase are two of the primary writers responsible

for

changing the face of television crime fiction.  Fontana, award-winning

writer and producer of such acclaimed television series as St.

Elsewhere,

Homicide: Life on the Street, Oz, The Beat, and The Jury, is known for

his

deft handling of gritty subject matter and intimate look at the various

participants in the criminal justice system: the investigators, the

prisoners, and most recently, the jurors.

Chase has received awards for his writing, directing and producing, and

has

been involved with many breakthrough shows such as The Rockford Files,

Northern Exposure, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and I’ll Fly Away. 

Creator

of The Sopranos, his portrayal of the bloody and violent world of the

mob

contrasting with personal insecurity and familial dysfunction has

garnered

both Emmy and Peabody awards.

Ellery Queen recipient Carolyn Marino, Vice President and Executive

Editor

at HarperCollins Publishers, has acquired and edited many of the major

players in the mystery field. She has worked with authors such as Tony

Hillerman, Janet Evanovich, Stuart Woods, Lisa Scottoline, Mike Nichols,

Michele Martinez, and Diane Mott Davidson.

A Raven award will go to the Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theater, founded by

Steven Oney in the early 1980s and heard on public radio and on CD,

tape,

and the Internet.  It keeps alive the spirit — and suspense — of

old-time

radio mysteries that are an essential part of our mystery heritage. 

CCRMT’s

second production, “The Caller on Line One,” set off a “War of the

Worlds”-type frenzy in Massachusetts and Connecticut when first aired.

Established in 1980, Murder by the Book of Houston, Texas, is one of the

oldest and largest mystery specialty bookstores in the United States,

and

the recipient of a Raven award. Always looking for ways to support the

mystery community, owner Martha Farrington instituted mystery author

luncheons, which host upwards of 200 people for each event, is a

regular at

a variety of local literary events, and has built a substantial network

of

loyal customers.

Diane Kovacs and Kara Robinson will receive Raven awards in recognition

of

their efforts as founders and listowners of the Internet listserv

DorothyL,

the first online discussion group devoted to mystery fiction, and the

first

to see the possibilities of the Internet for creating an international

forum. As such they united devotees of the mystery on all continents and

continue to provide an invaluable service to the mystery community.

Mystery Writers of America is the world’s preeminent organization

devoted to

the crime genre. The Special Edgar® Awards, Ellery Queen Award, and

Raven

Awards will be presented during the Edgar® Awards ceremonies on April

28 at

the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Park Avenue at Grand Central.  More than 700

authors,

publishers, and editors are expected to attend.

Further information: MWA, 17 E. 47th St., New York 10017; phone

212.888.8171; fax 212.888.8107; or http://www.mysterywriters.org{.moz-txt-link-freetext}.